And They All Came Back
by Bimadabomi
Summary: A little tweaking of the last scene of the series finale to appease all those Sam and Diane fans.


**And They All Came Back**

_Okay, so this is my first _Cheers_ fanfiction. I've written a lot of _Friends_ work, but I've never tried _Cheers_, so bare with me here! ;) I'm a big Sam and Diane fan, and of course, I always want to play with their ending since even though it was probably for the best and most realistic, it didn't make me the happiest, lol. So I'm doing a what if type of deal here, changing the last few minutes of the series finale. Which also ultimately changes Diane and Sam's appearances on _Frasier (at least Sam's, I've never seen Diane's, it may not matter as much for her)_, so if changing the end of _Cheers_ and bits of _Frasier_ isn't something you like to see, this fic's probably not for you. :) For all you Sam and Diane fans out there, you should enjoy (hopefully)! lol. This starts out after Sam returns to the bar in One For The Road after yet another failed attempt at a relationship with Diane. My story starts after everyone but Norm has left. He's still sitting on his stool lol._

Also, one last thing: the script/story format thing was hard for me to decide on. Being an English major, I usually prefer the story format, plus I'm used to it because that seems to be the preferred type for Friends_ fics. However, I think in the _Cheers_ world many people prefer script format. I decided to go with story, though, so sorry if you don't like that. :/_

Now, for any of you I haven't scared away, here's the story! lol. It isn't too long, just kinda an alternative ending. I may add more chapters to this, or I may leave it as a one shot deal. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from Cheers.  
  
All of the gang, except for Norm, had just left. Sam was still thinking about what Norm had said-- he knew he'd be back. He did always come back to Cheers, didn't he?

A moment later the door to the bar opened, and Sam looked up, realizing he hadn't locked the door and would have to tell whoever it was that they were closed.

Sorry, we're-- he started to say when he looked up and saw Diane. he questioned, What are you doing back here?I'm back, she told him, simply.

I see that, but why? What happened to your flight? Did you miss it?No, Sam, _I'm back._

He froze. Back as in back _back_? he asked. She smiled at the statement that really made no sense, but she knew what he was asking.

she stated simply, standing on the steps, waiting for his response.

He didn't say anything, at first, he was trying to comprehend what she was saying and what this meant. For a moment she wondered about his silence-- in the few hours since they had parted at the airport, maybe he had realized or decided that their not being together was what he really wanted. She was relieved a moment later when his face broke into a smile.

Took you long enough, he told her. She sighed in relief, a grin spreading across her own face as she finally moved from her place on the steps and ran into his waiting arms. He pulled her to him and held her close for a long moment, hoping that this time this was really going to work-- because God knows they've tried before.

But what, what happened? he asked her, pulling away from the embrace a moment later. I thought your life was in California now.

She sighed and shook her head. No. I thought about it after you left, and I was sitting there, thinking, sure, maybe my job and my new friends and my apartment are all in California-- but you're here. If you're here, then that's where I want to be, too, that's where my life will be. And I think this is where my heart has been the past six years, anyway. With you.You're really coming back? he asked to clarify.

To Boston?To me?

She smiled. 

He stood there for a moment, letting it all sink in. She was back. _Diane_ was back. The woman who drove him crazy, the woman he loved.

Well, then, welcome back, her told her with a goofy smile as he finally did what had been begging to be done since she walked back in the door and closed the space between them and kissed her. A moment later he started to pull away, but she pulled him back in for another kiss.

This is going to work this time, right? she asked quietly after she broke the kiss. I decided to come back to Boston because we've tried for too long to get this right and I couldn't just give up now. But, Sam, if I'm giving up everything that's been my life for the past six years then I have to know, or at least have a hope that this is--It's going to work, he assured her, cutting her off. I promise. Things are much different than they were ten years ago. We can do this. I want to do this.So do I.Then it's settled, he told her, kissing her again. You're back, we're back, it's going to work.

She smiled and stepped away from his embrace to face Norm, who had been sitting quietly on his stool the entire time. Everyone else had left the bar, but of course, Norm still remained. Diane wasn't even sure if he was paying attention to the fact that she had just walked back into the bar and she and Sam had reconciled yet again, or if he was too interested in his beer.

Diane said, giving him a slight nod.

Welcome back, Diane, Norm said, indicating that he had been paying attention after all.

Thank you, Diane said with a smile. I never should have left in the first place.Well, I better get going, Norm said, getting up and examining his empty mug to make sure all the beer was gone. You two should probably be.. alone... he added, heading towards the door. Oh, and Sammy?Yeah, Norm? Sam asked, glancing at Diane, trying to get himself to realize she was actually back, as he went behind the bar to get his keys.

Remember what I said earlier about true love? It's may not be impossible to have two of them in your case.

Sam smiled, then nodded. Norm was right-- what he had said earlier made sense, Cheers _was_ his true love. He always came back to it. But then again, he glanced at Diane, and realized that they always came back to each other, too. No matter how horrible things got, how long they were apart, how badly they hurt each other, somehow, they always ended up right back where they were again.

Night Norm, Sam added as Norm headed out the door while putting his coat on.

With the door closing behind Norm, the bar was empty except for Sam and Diane. Sam couldn't count the number of times he and Diane had been the last two in the bar, but this time he wasn't sure what to do, what to say, where to go, from here.

Diane smiled at him from across the bar. The past six years I tried to convince myself that I was happy in California, but now that I'm back, sitting here, I realized this was really all I wanted the whole time.Yeah, well, you sitting back here was all I wanted the whole time, too, though I think I pushed it so far back in my head that I didn't know it.Why do we do this to us, Sam? she wondered. Why do we constantly deprive ourselves of what we want?We're not doing it anymore, he pointed out. At least, we better not be doing it anymore.

She smiled. Well, I for one can say I'm not going to be taking part in the depravation of our happiness anymore. I have had enough of this on and off stuff.Hey, you and me both, he agreed. He picked up his keys off the bar and walked around the bar to where she was sitting. So, I take it you're hanging around this bar late at night because you need a place to stay?Well, being that I just gave up returning to my home so that I could stay here with the man I never should have left in the first place, no, I don't believe I have a place to stay.

He chuckled and pulled her off the stool by her arm. Come on.

She smiled at him in return and headed to the door, Sam following behind her.

Oh, the lights are on in the pool room, he realized, heading back towards the back of the bar.

I'll meet you outside, Diane told him. He nodded and she turned to open the door.

he called, stopping her from leaving just yet.

Yes, Sam?I love you.

She smiled at the words that didn't often come from his mouth. For the most part, I love you had always been unspoken between them. Sam being who he was always had trouble saying it-- from the first time he inadvertently blurted it out to many years later, he rarely used the actual phrase. Many times he would state it's only because I love you or if I wasn't been in love with you.. or I'm only doing this since I love you. The three word phrase itself, though, for some reason had always been hard for him to say. It was also unspoken between them that it was always there-- sometimes even at times when they weren't together, but now here he was, saying it as if it was the easiest thing in the world for him to say.

Maybe he was right; this time things were going to be different.

I love you too, Sam, she replied with a smile before she pulled the door open and walked up the steps of the bar she used to know so well, and realized she would soon know well again.

Sam paused for a moment, stopping to realize how lucky he ended up. _Two true loves_, Norm's words echoed in his mind. It was true. Cheers and Diane both, they always ended up back with him. And his car. Three true loves? Nah, that was probably pushing it.

He remembered when the bar burnt down, just about a year ago, and he had sold his car to help pay for the rebuilding. He had felt so low. And now he realized why. The three things that made him crazy when he didn't have them-- Cheers, his car, and Diane-- had all been gone. And now, a year later, he had them all back. What a difference a year made. Going by Norm's definition of true love, his car would fit in, but he decided he was lucky enough with two that he'd keep the car on the back burner for now.

He was lost in his thoughts and then remembered he had Diane waiting out in the dark in the middle of the night, and headed back to turn off the lights in the pool room when he heard someone at the door. This time it wasn't Diane.

Sorry-- we're closed, he told the customer before heading into the back room to turn off the lights.

--The End--

_Okaaay, so I dunno. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, so I had to do this. It would've been so easy for the show to do this, too, but they're obviously not hopeless romantics like I am. ;) I know many people liked that Sam and Diane didn't end up back together in the series finale, so this isn't for them. lol. This is for all those others like me out there._

This was meant to be a one time deal, just an alternative end to the finale without changing much, but if my muse tells me so, I could always add to this. Cheers_ with Diane **and** Rebecca is always something that I think would've been interesting to see. ;) So we shall see._

Hope you enjoyed. Remember this is my first Cheers_ fic, and it's so hard to do anything different with Sam and Diane, so go easy. :)_


End file.
